Collections of Resources on Education for Sustainability and Green Living

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University

Doctoral, Post-doctoral, and Mid-career Fellowships

Due date for applications: February 2, 2015

The
Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University invites
applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the
academic year beginning in September 2015.
This year’s competition is focused on three thematic areas related to
energy and sustainability. We
are seeking applications focusing on: 1) decarbonizing energy systems
in the European Union; 2) designing, developing, and/or implementing
sustainable energy technologies and policies in China; and 3) the
impacts
of fossil fuel subsidies on economic, environmental, and health
indicators and the actions that can be taken to reduce them.
The
fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral
students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or
practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation
of effective interventions that promote sustainable development.The thematic areas are led by ProfessorsHenry Lee and
Joseph Aldy.
The Program is also open, however, to strong proposals in any area of sustainability science.
In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the
Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Scienceis available to support citizens of Italy,China, or
developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply.
For more information on the fellowships application process see
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustsci/fellowships.
Applications are due February 2, 2015 and decisions will be announced in March 2014.

This
thematic area explores policies that will aid in decarbonizing the
energy in the EU in view of the 2030 Framework for Climate and
Energy Policy which will be decided on in October 2014. The EU is
considering more ambitious targets for renewable energy options,
increased energy efficiency goals for reducing greenhouse gases by 2030.
Fellows will be expected work on the sustainability
of the supply chain of renewable energies in the EU, from inception to
commercialization. The overall renewable energy life-cycle can be
considered in its entirety or the work can focus on a specific stage of
the life-cycle. The program is particularly interested
in analyzing the renewable energy sustainability in EU economies that
have traditionally lagged behind other member states in terms of
increasing the use of renewable energy technologies and the challenges
and opportunities to expand deployment and use of
those technologies.

This
thematic area addresses the environmental implications of energy
policies in China and explores how China can manage these implications.
Fellows work to identify and promote policies that will contribute to
the thoughtful use of China's natural resources (e.g., water, air, land)
and/or the adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive industrial and
energy technologies. Research areas include,
but are not limited to: analyzing the impact of energy and industrial
policies on water scarcity and air pollution; assessing polices to
promote a low-carbon energy portfolio and an analysis of options to
improve the efficient use of energy and greater penetration
of alternative energy sources.

Fossil
fuel subsidies distort the prices for electricity and fuels for a
majority of the world’s population. Failing to account for the
full social cost of energy – such as human health and environmental
damages – results in implicit subsidies of nearly $2 trillion globally
each year. In many developing countries, government subsidies for fossil
fuel subsidies compete with potentially socially
desirable uses of fiscal resources, such as investments in public
health, education, infrastructure, and low- or zero-emitting sources of
energy. Nonetheless, pricing energy, and especially fossil fuel-based
energy, below its social opportunity cost persists
throughout the world and it begs the question: if fossil fuel subsidies
are so bad, why are they so common? We are interested in fellows whose
research focuses on 1) empirical estimates of the environmental and
health impacts of subsidizing fossil fuels in
developing countries, 2) the potential fiscal trade-offs associated
with fossil fuel subsidies, 3) how pricing energy below cost affects
global commodity price levels and volatility as well as incentives for
investment in non-fossil energy alternatives, 4)
the political economy that supports policies that continue to subsidize
fossil fuels in developing countries, or 5) case studies of successful
energy price reforms to identify key lessons for informing future reform
efforts.

The concepts of sustainability and resilience are interrelated
(National Research Council, 2012a). Sustainability tends to focus on
long-term goals and strategies, while resilience is oriented to
preparing for unexpected disruptions that may destabilize an otherwise
sustainable system. Generally, approaches taken to address one concept
would also be supportive of the other, although there may be tradeoffs.
The more sustainable we are, the less we expose ourselves to
unpredictable disruptions; the more resilient we are, the less we risk
compromising our future well-being (Fiksel et al. 2014).